Antibiotic CC-1065, (7bR,8aS)-7-[[1,6-dihydro 4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-7-[(4,5,8,8a-tetrahydro-7-methyl-4-oxocyclopropa[c ]pyrrolo[3,2-e]indol-2(1H)-yl)carbonyl]benzo[1,2-b:4,3-b']dipyrrol-3(2H)-y l]carbonyl]1,6-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-benzo[1,2-b:4,3-b']dipyrrole-3(2 H)-carboxamide, is disclosed and claimed in L. J. Hanka et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,888 together with a process for preparing antibiotic CC-1065 by aerobic fermentation procedures, and recovering antibiotic CO-1065 therefrom.
In The Journal of Antibiotics, 1985, 38, 746, D. G. Martin et al reported that acetic acid adds across the spirocyclopropylcyclohexadienyl (SCPCH) system of CC-1065 to produce the phenolic, acetic acid product (AAP), 7-[[7-[[1-[(acetyloxy)methyl]-l,6-dihydro-5-hydroxy-8-methylbenzo[1,2-b:4, 3-b']dipyrrol-3(2H)-yl]carbonyl]-l,6-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-methoxybenzo[1,2-b :4,3-b']-dipyrrol-3(2H)-yl]carbonyl]-1,6-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-methoxy-benzo[ 1,2-b:4,3-b']dipyrrole-3(2H)-carboxamide. AAP was tested in vitro and in vivo and found to be less potent than CC-1065 by a factor of 10.sup.3 to 10.sup.4 depending upon the particular test system and therefore tended to divert attention from adducts of the SCPCH system as useful antitumor agents or as prodrugs to CC-1065 analogs.
In J. Am. Chem. Soc., 103, No. 18, 1981, W. Wierenga published a "Synthesis of the Left-Hand Segment of the Antitumor Agent CC-1065".
EP Application 0 154 445 (published 11.09.85) discloses various analogs of antibiotic CC-1065, including compounds of formula EP-I and EP-II (see General Formula chart of EP 0154 445), wherein R.sub.1 in formula EP-II is CH.sub.3 --, --CH.sub.2 Ph, CH.dbd.CHCH.sub.2 --, --CH.sub.2 SCH.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 OCH.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 CCl.sub.3, --CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 Si(R.sub.2).sub.3, or H, where Ph is phenyl; R is alkyl(C.sub.1 -C.sub.5), phenyl, or H; R.sub.2 ' is C.sub.1 to C.sub.5 -alkyl, phenyl or hydrogen, and is not necessarily the same as R in one compound; R.sub.3 is alkyl(C.sub.1 -C.sub.5), phenyl, or H; and X is C1, Br, or I-, or OSO.sub.2 R.sub.4 O, where R.sub.40 is C.sub.1 to C.sub.5 -alkyl, phenyl, tolyl, bromophenyl, nitrophenyl, or trifluromethyl. The O-protected compounds of formula EP-II are chemically stable and only removable under specific chemical conditions. However, when the compounds of formula EP-II are O-deprotected, they can be cyclized to yield the compounds of EP-I.